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Detroit Free Press Staff Writer

State election officials will meet in Detroit this morning in an effort to finalize disputed results of the city’s Aug. 6 mayoral primary election.

The state’s review of the election is ongoing and might not be finished by today’s public meeting of the Board of State Canvassers, said Fred Woodhams, spokesman for the secretary of state.

The state board of two Democrats and two Republicans will meet at 10:30 a.m. at Cadillac Place, 3044 W. Grand Blvd.

The state took over the job of verifying the Detroit primary results after the Wayne County Board of Canvassers last week refused to certify results prepared by the county clerk’s staff that differed greatly from unofficial results the city’s elections department compiled on election night.

The county’s figures — the result of a two-week review of Detroit’s election documents — would have invalidated more than 20,000 write-in votes for mayor and declared Wayne County Sheriff Benny Napoleon the winner instead of write-in candidate Mike Duggan, who was declared the winner on election night.

Wayne County election workers suggested the disputed write-in votes be invalidated because Detroit poll workers did not jot down hash marks on their work sheets to add up write-in votes.

Hash marks are not required by law to count write-in votes.

According to the city’s unofficial results, Duggan received 44,395 write-in votes and Napoleon received 28,352 votes.

The county’s unofficial results had Napoleon on top with 28,391 votes to Duggan’s 23,970 votes.

Detroit city clerk Janice Winfrey, who oversees Detroit elections, last week criticized county officials for failing to notify her office of the missing hash marks during their two-week review. Winfrey said poll workers could have been called in to double check the number of write-in votes and remake work sheets with the desired hash marks. She also pointed out that hash marks are not required by law.

Wayne County clerk Cathy Garrett, whose staff performed the county’s canvass, responded and said her office is not permitted by law to recount write-in ballots during the canvass, as Winfrey suggested.

Woodhams, however, said Michigan election law, chapter 168 section 823, allows ballots to be re-examined during a canvass to correct errors.